Nagarathna Memorial Grant – 2026 Open for Applications

Welcome to the ninth edition of the NMG grant. I am grateful to friends (Nemo, Gangadhar, Shweta, Divya, Miss.Y, Mr.S) and other anonymous folks who have joined me on this journey with additional grant support. We do have some of them supporting us this year, too. Since last year, we have separated the NMG-Edu as a grant. That allows all the money as part of this grant to go to projects, which I think is great.

I am also thankful to all the applicants and grantees who have been part of this journey in one way or another. It’s one of those things I do every year that makes me very happy.

Throughout this year, I also plan to collect and publish some stories from people who have received the grants, of course, only if they want to share.

The NMG/2026 grant application is open. The application is a simple google form. It takes five minutes. You can look at previous grantees on the project page for inspiration. Remember, nothing is out of scope. Apply, Share.

Started in 2018, Nagarathna Memorial Grant is an yearly, no strings attached grant of one lakh rupees (~$1400). It’s a micro-grant targeted at everyone. The reason for grant could be anything as long it’s meaningful to you and the people around you. Though I prefer free and open source or creative commons projects. It’s not a must

Please remember the important dates; the application is a simple google form.

• January 15, 2026 – The application opens
• March 15, 2026 – The application closes
• April 14, 2026 – Announcement of results

There is also an Friends of NMG, moderated email discussion list It’s the best way to get updates.

Additional Notes #

1. Shweta/Ashwini(50K), Divya(25K), Miss.Y(30K) and Mr.S (10K) join us this year. So the total grant amount is 2.15 Lakhs.
2. 2026-01-21 : We have Saurabh/SG (25K) joining us this year. So total is 2.40 Lakhs.
3. 2026-01-26 : Shweta/Ashwini have added another 10K (so totally 60k). Total grant amount is 2.5 Lakhs.
4. I have also added a page that explains how additional grant contribution process works.
5. 2026-01-28 : We have one more supporter, AP(50K). So the total grant amount now is 3 lakhs.
6. 2026-02-11: We have a new supporter FOSS United Foundation (2 Lakhs). So the total grant amount now is 5 Lakhs.